want the treatment. Crow was a different kind of guy. He lost his son when he was a kid. He couldn’t live with it anymore. They all thought he was gettin’ better when he met his old lady, but it didn’t last. Crow never got over his boy’s death,” Viking explains as Fin keeps a firm hand on my shoulder.
A gasp escapes me followed by a sob. I had a brother and a nephew that I never got to meet? How does something like that happen? How did I never know? This is so messed up. This whole situation is just a mess. As the tears start to fall in earnest, I feel myself falling. Fin pulls me into his arms as I cry. I cry for a brother I never knew. I cry for a nephew that never got the chance to meet his aunt. I cry because my life is crumbling right in front of me, and there isn’t a thing I can do to stop it.
“It’s okay Molly. It’ll all be okay,” Fin says softly trying to reassure me. Viking kneels in front of me with his hand coming to rest on my cheek.
“I’m gonna get you some of his pictures and things, yeah?”
Nodding slowly he wipes my cheek before he moves away from us. I watch as he walks away before I hear Roland.
“What the hell is happenin’ here?”
His voice is hard and even. I look up at him and when he sees my tear stained face his face falls. He drops to his knees and grabs me from Fin’s arms to pull me into his.
“What happened babe?”
I can’t speak. I don’t know what to say.
“We… uh.. we found some shit out. Asked doc to pull a few strings. It turns out the cancer Drake has is hereditary. Seems to run in the family. Crow was Molly’s half-brother.”
The more he says it the harder it becomes to breathe.
“Fuck. Are you kiddin’ me?” Roland asks still holding me tightly.
“Wish I was brother.”
I can hear movement behind me, but I don’t look up to see Fin walking away. Roland just sits with me in his arms and rocks me slowly.
“I met him a few times. He was a good guy,” he whispers into my hair. I pull back and look up to him.
“Did you ever meet his son?” Roland shakes his head sadly.
“Never got the pleasure. I think he was maybe five or six when he was killed. It ruined Crow. His old lady Lyric brought back pieces of him, but it wasn’t enough,” he says choking on his words.
“Is that going to be us when Drake dies? Are we going to be able to handle it Roland?” I sob even harder and bury my face into his shirt. My body trembles as the tears just keep falling.
“We have to be stronger. We don’t have a choice Mols. There’s a lot more life to live and Drake wouldn’t want you to waste it. That boy loves life too much,” he reminds me.
“I don’t know what to do without him. I had a brother that I never got to meet. I had a nephew I never got to see. This is so fucked up Roland. Tom ruined it all. He ruined my whole fucking life!” I scream loudly.
“He’ll pay for it too baby. I promise.”
As I sit in his arms and think about my past, I know that I’ve ruined it all. It’s all because of me. If I would have just talked to Roland and told him about what Tom was doing. If I would have just run harder and further. Why didn’t I fight him? Why didn’t I try harder? This is all my fault.
“It’s my fault,” I cry even harder still.
“No, it’s not. Don’t blame yourself Mols. There isn’t anything we could have done. If Crow had of known about you it wouldn’t have made a difference to him. He was a lost soul.”
“I could have tried Roland. If I’d known I could have tried!”
He rocks me in his arms and I just fall apart. How can any of this be happening? How do you not know about your own family? One man. That son of a bitch stole it all away from me. The first chance I get to go after him and I’m gone. I will make good on my promise to myself. I will kill him. I don’t know how, but I will figure it out.